Is Skipping Rest Day Affecting Your Results?

Yes, skipping rest day is a good way to sabotage your results.

We spend each day so caught up on activities that we at times over work ourselves. I know for sure I spend a lot of energy and time encouraging myself and my team to stay active. That we must workout to get the results we want. Sometimes we take on that frantic “must work out every day” mindset. Completely forgetting the most important parts of exercising. That is giving our bodies time to recover. I do my best to use that same energy is also spent recommending to take a day off and do nothing. Why rest? Shouldn't we go at it full throttle?

Rest days are crucial for giving your body time to recover from workouts or any activity. They are also important to help your muscles become stronger and bigger as they rebuild. Whether you are a beginner or expert at working out you want to make sure to give your body a break from time to time. Without effective rest days, you risk canceling out all that hard work you’ve been putting in. Intensive training day after day with little rest between can lead to your muscles to have little or no recovery time. This only leads you to see a decrease in strength, power and endurance. The recovery time is important for you body to repair the damage of the work you put in. It allows your body to remodel your muscles into a stronger versions of themselves. This process allows the muscle to handle the stresses and strains of working out next time. I am talking about giving your body a full day of rest. You should take at least one day off per week. If you are completely sore from training hard, take it is as cue to do no max effort of anything. Besides it is a good thing for you. It’s an essential part of your training, and if you neglect it, you’ll pay the toll sooner or later.

The whole point of a rest day is you’re giving your body the opportunity to recuperate. Nothing helps decrease the strain on your systems like loading up on sleep. Sleeping is hands down the most important part of any fitness program. Aim for at least eight hours. Rest days boost morale and keep you moving forward. A rest day means you’re giving yourself a day off from training—not a day off from your diet. It’s always important to ensure you’re getting enough macro-nutrients. Such as carbohydrates, fats, and proteins. Good nutrition is important for refueling your body. Let's not forget hydration. Drinking water is key. Maintaining a hydrated state during training, after exercise, and during recovery is critical. Hydration can affect not only to your performance. It also helps by reducing fatigue, improving your mood, and improving cognitive function.

How much rest you need is dependent on how you feel at any given time. A generally accepted rule of thumb is that you should take a rest day after each day of intense training. At least 1 to two days off per week to ensure that you avoid accidental over training. In the event of an injury, you’re going to have to avoid straining the wounded limb until it’s recovered. Whether that takes weeks or months. Above all it is about listening to your body's needs. Resting is as important as working out. It’s an equal part of the total process required to build strength, endurance, and muscle. You want to allow enough time to recover. But not so much time that you lose the gains you've made.

In summary rest to allow your body to catch up and strengthen. It’s a proven way of reducing injuries. Be sure to properly hydrate. Get at six to eight hours of sleep every night. Be sure to schedule a couple days a week to let your body heal.